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why church planting

originally posted in the PCA News web magazine (06/06/2001), now called byFaith web magazine - this was a comment by Tim Keller 06/06/2001 in a PCA News web magazine discussion thread

A Renewed Commitment to Church Planting and Revitalization: It's True and Not an Insult

Tim Keller
06/06/2001

I'd like to defend Jim Bland's
asserting that "New churches reach more people with the gospel than do
established churches." I think Santo Garofolo's reaction is normal and
understandable. He does not question that this is an accurate
statement. But he wonders whether to make the assertion is not somwhat
insulting and discouraging. "It sounds like MNA is giving up on
established congregations."

But we shouldn't be insulted by this fact. We should say it and acknowledge it and embrace it. Why?

1)
First, it is true. It is a simple fact that new congregations in
general will always reach unchurched and non-Christian people more
effectively than longer-established churches in general. My church
(Redeemer)is now 12 years old, and I can see the change already. Though
we continue to be very effective in evangelism, we don't reach people
at the same "rate" we did in the first three years of our church's
life. There are many reasons that new churches are simply more open and
easy to enter and flexible and focused on evangelism than older
churches, but we can't go into that here.

2) Second, the
Presbyterian doctrine of the church makes it easier to embrace the idea
that the newer churches will usually be the main evangelistic channels
for a city or Presbytery. Presbyterians don't see the individual
congregation as being the whole church standing on its own, but rather
sees all the connected congregations in the whole region as "the
church." If that is the case, different congregations will have
different gift-mixes. Just as in a local congregation you may have some
ministers and laypeople who 'specialize' in outreach, so in a
presbytery you will have some congregations that excel in outreach. In
general, it will be the newer churches that will be the 'evangelistic'
department for the whole presbytery.

3) Third, church planting
is therefore the main way for a Presbytery or a regional body of
churches to be sure they are winning new people into their communion
from their city. In any city or Presbytery it will be the newer
churches that will be the main evangelistic channels bringing people
in. If you 20% of your congregations are always under 10 years old,
your overall body will be growing and bringing new people to Christ. If
few or none of your congregations are new, your overall body will
probably be shrinking. Church planting is the single most strategic way
to be sure to expand the kingdom.

4) Fourth, this in no way at
all gets existing churches "off the hook" to do evangelism. Indeed,
this fact proves that existing churches have more work to do to be
outreaching, not less. It doesn't come as "naturally' as it does for
church plants, and so they need to hold themselves accountable to be in
mission. Evangelism is not an option for any congregation--it is a
command, no matter what their 'gift mix'.

5) Fifth, one of the
best ways to revitalize the existing congregations in a city or region
is to have a lot of newer congregations around. Newer congregations
tend to be more willing to try new things and are better pioneers of
new ways of doing outreach which then the existing congregations from
learn from. They function as the "R and D" department of a region.

These
are some reasons why we should not be put off by the fact that our
newest churches will always be the 'evangelistic' edge of our
denomination and presbyteries, and why we must always be planting a
very large number of new churches each year.